#16: Learning & sharing (11 June 2025)
A big round up of podcasts, products, webinars, books, photos that have caught my attention lately...
A long overdue bumper update….
My interview with Jess Kismet on the Building Sciology Poddie is out now. In it we chat about some of my key learnings from building my own home and my transition to working in the residential construction industry.
Homes For Tomorrow is a new website profiling local South Australians who have built smarter homes; to maximise comfort, reduce long term costs and create a better future for everyone. (Note - I first found out about Homes For Tomorrow via the My Efficient Electric Home Facebook group which is well worth joining if you’re interested in improving the energy efficiency, health and comfort of your existing or new home).
I attended a Sustainable House Day webinar Q&A with sustainable builders - Dylan Farquhar (from Alwyn Projects), Hamish White (from Sanctum Homes), and Jeremy Spencer (from Positive Footprints). A few of the links/resources I learned about included…
XCEM Alpha Floor - a high-performance, lightweight solid concrete flooring system
Viva Panels - custom made, pre-fabricated straw panels
Panasonic Whisper Green bathroom exhaust fans - they have a 24-hour trickle operation to provide constant ventilation
The Sustainable Builders Alliance thermal performance checklist.
I have a new book to add to my reading list - Rottenomics: The Story of New Zealand’s Leaky Building Disaster (which I discovered via the Climasure blog).
ArchitectGP have recordings of three webinars available on their website which I’m planning on checking out - designing for family, your sustainable home, and fix your floor plan.
Weathertex also have a growing library of free live and on-demand webinar recordings on a range of topics (not just related to the Weathertex product).
ARKATA has launched a new website which includes a useful ‘Top 10 Questions You Need to Ask before Designing an Energy Efficient Home’ resource.
My neighbours have fired up their combustion heaters which unfortunately means smokey smells in my house (even after upgrading my HRV to a F7 filter). I decided to invest in a Winix air purifier (from AusClimate) and it has made a significant difference. It’s also given me some peace of mind about managing PM2.5 when cooking.
I enjoyed opening my home for Sustainable House Day last month and one of the significant topics of discussion was ventilation and HRV. I recorded a short video with some thoughts on why it’s so important to be considering ventilation as part of design.
Installing or specifying skylights? This is a great video from Sam Horn Building that highlights how to install them with the Pro Clima system to ensure they remain weathertight.
Seeking some inspo for your new project - check out the CO-architecture directory. Am in love with this bright yellow bathroom from Kate’s House by Bower Architecture & Interiors.
Another image that caught my eye was this gorgeous staircase/storage detail (in a renovation by Imogen Pullar Architecture featured on The Design Files).
And finally, a new Instagram account to follow (thanks to Mitch @ Tusk Architecture) - Sexy Gutters
